Low back pain may be signs of prostate cancer, urologist tells men

A urologist consultant at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State, Dr. Ahuizechukwu Obiesie, has warned men to ignore constant low back pain, noting it could be a sign of prostate cancer.

The urologist stressed that men who experience constant low back pain should seek immediate and appropriate medical intervention, explaining that severe low back pain that also spreads to other parts of the body is one of the main signs of prostate cancer.

He said the key to getting good treatment for prostate cancer is early detection.

“This is because for prostate cancer, if it’s detected early by most of these research parameters, you can try to cure them,” he said.

Prostate cancer, according to experts, is cancer that occurs in the prostate. The prostate is a small walnut-shaped gland in men that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm. Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers.

In an interview with our correspondent, Obiesie also noted that difficulty urinating for a man should not be ignored either, as it could just as well be a sign of prostate disease.

According to the Victoria State Health Authority, Australia, the three most common forms of prostate disease are inflammation, a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate, and prostate cancer.

The Australian health authority also revealed that about 25 percent of men aged 55 and over have prostate disease, adding that this has increased to 50 percent by age 70.

Early stages of prostate disease may have no symptoms, the health authority noted.

Speaking to PUNCH HealthWise, the urologist emphasized that prostate problems in men should be addressed quickly before they get worse.

He stated that the various prostate diseases that a man can suffer from and misinterpret range from benign prostate disease and prostate cancer.

He stated that prostate diseases often manifest as lower urinary tract symptoms.

He said: “Prostate diseases all manifest as what we call lower urinary tract symptoms.

“One of them is frequency. When the man has to go to the toilet more than twice within two hours. Take for example someone came into your office at one o’clock and before three o’clock he has used the toilet between two or three times, that means there may be a problem

Urgency to urinate can also be a sign. That is the inability to delay urination. That’s when a person feels depressed and can’t stop urinating and when this frequency happens at night and you go to the toilet six times during the night. It’s a sign.